


Elena's Friend

by Sharonfofaron



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Sam Drake - Freeform, Sam drake x reader - Freeform, Samuel Drake x Reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-06-08 09:06:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 14,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15240036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharonfofaron/pseuds/Sharonfofaron
Summary: You and Elena have been best friends for a long time, ever since you were her guide in the actively-war-torn Nepal. While there, she reunited with a certain Nathan Drake to hunt the Cintamani Stone, and now they've married and settled down to do marine salvage (and Elena's old show). They've also got a little girl, Cassie. You, meanwhile, stayed in the business but went for a more...unconventional side of things as an arms dealer. For now, you're all relatively sedentary in New Orleans...and there's a certain brother of Nathan's that you're about to meet, who might change everything.





	1. Chapter 1

You jumped off your boat lightly, having gotten it squared away for the night, and turned to admire the sunset. It was beautiful out, it really was...but you had somewhere to be. The boat didn't pay for itself, after all. 

Stripping off your skintight wetsuit and expertly twisting your hair into an elegant little knot, you slipped into a slinky deep-blue evening gown and heels before grabbing your purse and leaving the harbor to hail a taxi. You worked as a docent at the local art museum, just to pay the bills, and tonight was a formal event that was meant to honor the donors. Normally you wouldn't even be invited to it--and it wasn't really your scene anyway--but your boss had kindly informed you that she needed some 'young blood' at the event. Most of the donors were old, after all, and tired of just talking to each other. A new, fresh face would do them good, she'd said. 

Two hours later, you were bored out of your mind, sipping daintily from your flute of champagne and listening to a sexist old man wax poetic about the 'crazy ambition of women in your generation'. It was only when his hand made a "misguided" fumble for your ass--using the typical old-man excuse of just trying to be friendly--that you left for the night, your boss looking at you apologetically as you left. 

Fortunately, the night wasn't over yet--and you had somewhere far, far better to be. Somewhere with beers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Any fun plans for your Friday night, Elena?" Victor was asking from where he was lounged in a recliner, Nathan and Sam sitting comfortably on the couch next to him. They were watching sports--or, trying to. The TV kept getting stuck on the cricket channel, much to Sam's chagrin, and the whole gang was already laughing raucously from his failed attempts to control his swearing in front of his niece. 

Elena turned to smile at Victor in passing, walking by with Cassie toddling along behind her, and said over the TV "Yeah! Actually Y/N is coming over." 

Cassie stopped short. "Y/N? She's coming here?!" Her little holler was so cute and dramatic that Sam looked over and chuckled, amused. Cassie let out a squeal of excitement and darted upstairs abruptly. 

"Where's she going?" Victor asked. Nate grinned as Elena disappeared into the kitchen. "Oh, she gets really cute when Y/N is around. See, Y/N is the "cool friend"." He made finger quotations in the air. "Ahhhhhh," Victor said, while Sam looked on curiously for a moment before turning back to the TV. 

"She always tries really hard to impress her," Nate said with a laugh. "Fortunately, Y/N IS really cool." "Really?" Sam asked, eyes still on the TV. He'd gotten it to change the right way, for just a second...Fuck. Cricket again. 

"Really," Nate said, and he and Victor shared a smirk, successfully holding their laughs in. Victor hadn't met you yet, but he HAD seen a picture of you, and he couldn't wait to see Sam flabbergasted. 

A few minutes and Sam-swears later, the front door opened, and you walked in with a big relaxed smile, dressed to the nines. You were too busy hugging Elena to see, but Nathan and Victor both watched Sam instead of you, watching his jaw make one long, long, priceless drop.


	2. Chapter 2

"Heeeyy!" You said happily while you hugged Elena, hearing the sound of a TV in the next room and thumps coming from upstairs as you greeted her. "You look nice!" Elena said, stepping back to look you over with a smile. Couldn't have worked out better, she thought to herself mischievously. Elena was excited to finally engineer a set-up of some sorts, since she'd never gotten to before. 

Only now remembering the outfit, you gestured down at yourself sheepishly, rolling your eyes. You were wearing no makeup, since the bun and the dress and the heels all did it for you, and since you already had a natural glow from being out on the water all day. "Oh yeah, sorry, some fancy work thing was happening," you said laughingly as Cassie thundered in from upstairs, clutching some drawings and some kinds of odds and ends. "Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N Y/N!!" she exclaimed excitedly, hopping up and down. "I made you stuff!" 

"Hey, Cassie," you said casually, making it sound like she was a college friend or something over for a drink. You knew that kids generally seemed to like being talked to like grown-ups who were equal with you, and it did indeed make her beam with pride. 

Sam stared at you, and kept staring. He saw that you were saying something to Cassie, making her smile really big, and he swallowed hard, still literally holding his beer midair that he'd been about to drink. 

Trying very very hard not to laugh--since they feared that might get Sam's guard up, or yours, having never tried to set either of you up before and therefore not knowing what was okay--the three other grown-ups managed to rein themselves in and keep their poker faces on. But really, Nate thought, the look on his brother's face right now was absolutely unforgettable and priceless. If only he could somehow sneak a photo. 

HaHA! he thought, Thank God for smartphones. He was able to take a short video, since it was easier to do subtly, and felt confident that he'd gotten a good shot of you talking to Cassie and Sam's still-adorably-dumbfounded expression. Victor shifted in his seat just a little so Nate could get a great angle, then lifted his cigar back up. The movement seemed to break Sam out of the spell, but he continued to stare at you intently, looking like he'd just seen a brand new 250 cc twin motorbike and it was all his. 

You sank to the floor smoothly in one fluid movement, laying down on the ground with your back against the structure of the doorway between the entrance and the living room, stretching your long silk and high-heel-adorned legs out languidly as Cassie jumped down to sit next to you and show you her collection up close and personal. Sam gulped again at seeing that, and his eyes grew even more intent (if that was possible). His mouth was already turning into a slow, almost Grinch-like smile of appreciation, and Nate could see the flirtatious lines forming. 

Whoa there, Nathan almost said. Let's not go to creepy-villain-levels of lust just yet, Sam--you literally JUST met--

Realizing that they HADN'T actually met yet, Elena stepped in, standing on the entryway side of you. "Y/N, this is Nate's brother Sam and our resident hero Sully," she said fondly. Sam's bravado seemed to fade the second your eyes went to him, and instead he looked more like his serious, treasure-hunting-business self. He raised his beer at you somberly in a greeting, leaning forward over his knees. Sully raised his cigar with a wink, and said "Nice to meet you, darlin'. Heard a lot about you." 

"You too." You smirked at him affectionately, since the sentence was true. You knew that Victor Sullivan was an old player who definitely still had it--whatever 'it' was exactly, mojo perhaps--and that he was a hell of a good guy to be around. He'd been a scoundrel in his younger days, which was something you had also heard--but not from Nate or Elena. That intel was from other illicit sources.

Cassie's arm was tugging back at you, so you didn't pay much attention to Sam's muted version of a hello; hell, you'd done similar greetings yourself. As a rather sardonic, relaxed person, you didn't go in much for formalities or complications unless absolutely necessary. But Elena, who had high high hopes for this, was exasperated. 

She bugged her eyes out at Sam, but he was too busy alternating between looking at the floor shyly and unabashedly staring at you. Noticing that he genuinely couldn't seem to decide which part of himself to go for--the charmingly goofy, flirty, and faux-confident one, or the sharply serious and sarcastic one--she took pity on him and elected to back off for the night. Let them just meet tonight, she figured. Good enough for now. A glance with Nate confirmed that he was thinking the same thing, and it amazed her once again to think that Nate could basically communicate an entire shrug with just a look. 

Nate was surprised; his brother's boundless charisma had vanished instantly. Damn, he thought. It's a good thing he's at least still good-looking--

He was right; Sam's natural 'smolder' was still intact, thankfully, and it was exacerbated by the way that he was looking up at you with his head down. 

Cassie was busily showing you her things--some drawings from school, and some she'd done for fun, including some of you, as well as things like acorns and leaves and twigs and buttons that she'd found. She was chattering happily, and since she was the only child you actually talked to, you really had to focus on what she was saying to keep up. But keep up you did, and your genuine interest and your relevant questions made her practically float off the floor from the thrill of your attention. 

A couple minutes later, the men were back to watching TV--or, two of them were and Sam was pretending to be while secretly still staring. Elena silently handed you a beer, grinning like an imp. She loved how good you were with Cassie, particularly since she knew you weren't likely to have any kids of your own. Occasionally you babysat, which was always the highlight of Cassie's life, and it made Nate and Elena happy to know that she was in such good hands. 

Cassie held up a little bit of moss that she'd found. "And here, here's this green fuzzy stuff and look Y/N it's so SO SOFT--"

You took it very daintily, while Sam watched. "This is moss, Cassie, it's very important," you said quietly, your very slight accent coming out like it always did when you talked about nature. "It is?" Cassie gaped, entranced as she stared at your face. "Yes. Moss is the lifeblood of the stones," you said. "It grows around them and helps hold them together." 

"You mean like a family?" Cassie's mouth was a little O. You leaned back against the doorway again, pressing your head against it lazily and fondling the moss. You shifted your legs again, uncrossing and recrossing them, and Sam's focus flicked from your legs to your face and then back and forth again before settling on your eyes, which now looked a little faraway. 

"Yes," you said faintly, smiling. "A family." 

"So this one needs to go back home?" 

"Well, where did you get it?" 

"Our patio out back."

"If it had already fallen off, then that's okay. That was just supposed to happen. If you ripped it off--" Cassie winced at the reprimand, but your face and voice were still very kind and matter-of-fact "then just go put it back in its spot and very nicely apologize." 

"Really?" Cassie looked relieved. "Sure," you said confidently, and opened your beer with a deft flick of your fingers before sipping it. Sam's throat twitched at the tension in his body; he felt like pouncing on you then and there. You were a gorgeous girl with a cute little accent and an amazing body and his niece liked you and Jesus CHRIST you were just like him you could open beers--

"It can wait until tomorrow, though, Cassie," you said with a laugh when she darted into the kitchen and was headed off by her mom. In the new moment of silence, finding yourself unattended, you glanced at the TV--then stopped. "Are you boys watching...cricket?" 

"Yeah," Nate sighed. 

Trying not to sound skeptical, you politely asked "Is cricket a particularly...exciting...sport?" Maybe you'd missed the boat on high-octane cricket matches all this time...

"NO, it ISN'T." Nate pouted, and you tried to hold in your grin at his comical fury. "Damn TV won't work." 

"Did you already try hitting it?" you asked, trying not to sound patronizing. 

"Hitting it, threatening it, insulting it--Sam called it about thirty different swear words--" Nate laughed, gesturing to his brother, and Sam let out a little laugh too. His eyes were laser-focused on the TV screen, since he didn't want you to see the predatory thing in his eyes. No way that wouldn't creep a girl out on the first night meeting. 

Phew, you thought (seeing Nate's older dark-eyed sibling's focus), his brother's got a hell of a stare. From your angle down on the ground, you could see a wire on the floor-level TV that was askew. "Oh, here," you said brightly, setting aside your beer and reaching under the television--ignorant of the sensual image your body now made--and all three boys were at a loss for words until you got back up, the screen sputtering for a second before showing the proper channel.

"God's balls, she did it," Sully said, with a loud laugh, and you grinned back at him, liking the old man immensely. 

"See, I'm good for something," you said, laughing, while you got up to join Elena in the kitchen where she was waving at you, grabbing your beer as you went. 

Yes you are, Sam thought, finally sipping his. Yes. You. Are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't turn out quite how I expected it to so far...all I was really going off of is when you're visiting a friend's house and they have a hot sibling, or when your sibling's hot friend visits, and you either try really hard to be cool or just kind of quietly observe and get awkward. That can't be just me, right? Anyway, hope you enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

"So how's work?" You asked Elena, sipping your beer and sitting at the island while she brought over mozzarella sticks and sauce. The smell of the fried cheese was making you hungry, and she heard your stomach growl. "I take it they don't serve much food at fancy art fundraisers?" she asked, laughing. 

You laughed back. "Nope. Nothing but those little canape-things, or antipasti or whatever. Good, but I can't exactly take sixteen without somebody noticing..."

"Sure you can, just shove 'em in your purse like the classy lady that you are." Giggling with her, you posed snootily for a second, placing your hand on your chest. Sam, who could see you in there a little, desperately wanted to be that hand. 

"Why of course. Nothing but the epitome of class for me," you drawled, and you both cracked up. "Anyway," you said, reaching over near her for a mozzarella stick, "How IS work?" 

Elena rolled her eyes and sat down. "Ugh, don't get me started."

You leaned back in your chair, relaxed, and prepared to hear all about it. "My editor's trying to change everything about my writing that I love, everything that makes my writing...me, you know? I mean, you know how I like to use kind of elegant, whimsical descriptions when I'm describing the landscape, or getting into detail about someone's physical traits--" you nodded, being a devotedly loyal fan of her work "because I think it adds something and makes people really pay attention to 'Bob' or whoever it is instead of just me saying that I'm sitting down with some random guy. Well he--my editor--always wants to cut those parts out. And, I mean, we have the show now, which is going GREAT, so I don't know...I'm kind of thinking about heading out of the journalism industry and focusing on the show. But there's also so MUCH that I want to write about!" she gestured in dismay. Elena was usually the more self-controlled and down-to-earth of this gang, but you knew that her writing was important to her. And she felt an obligation to use her talents for good, writing about hard topics and sharing important news, which was something you really admired her for. 

"I know," you said sympathetically, and Elena's shoulders relaxed a little in relief. This was part of why you were such close friends; you always knew how to comfort her, and presented logical options instead of just patting her hand, and she always knew when you had had enough of the logic and actually genuinely needed a hug or a cry. 

"I saw the news," you added. "The war in India?"

Elena nodded. "That one's really got me. I'd love to go out there and record everything, write something really powerful that gets strangers all over the world to care and get up off their asses and help--but I mean," she sighed. "We've got Cassie now, and things are going so well here; it's DANGEROUS, Y/N--"

You nodded. "I know," you said again. "So when do we leave?" 

Elena stared at you. "What?"

You smiled ruefully. "Elena, you know I'll always have your back. I'll go with you and make sure you get home safely, and keep an eye on everything and everyone around us so YOU can focus on the story. And you're right; it's an important one. You don't even need to write it for him; seriously, Elena, a piece like that? Time or National Geographic would definitely go for it. You might be focusing on the show, but you've still got plenty of clout in the journalism world; the name Elena Fisher still means something." You sipped your beer. 

Elena was looking at you, thrown, but clearly thinking about it. You let her; it wasn't like you were aching to go into an active war zone, but you had to admit you were excited about the prospect of going somewhere with her again. It had been too long since you'd had an adventure with your friend. 

That friend looked more thoughtful than surprised now. "And YOUR name means something, too," she said quietly, in case Cassie reappeared. Cassie didn't know what you did for a living--what you REALLY did, that is, even though the docent job technically was how you made money. 

Elena's eyes were fixed on you now. "Would you be...bringing anything?"

You shrugged, already knowing your answer. "Yes. To help those I can." 

Elena nodded slowly. "Let me talk to Nate."

"You know what he'll say."

"I know, but it's still nice to ask him." She shifted back in her seat, done with the topic for now. "And how is that going, by the way? YOUR work?"

You knew she didn't mean the museum. "Good." You took another mozzarella stick. "I've actually managed to solidly help some people, Elena. Like, they take the packages from me and the next thing I know I'm getting a call saying 'thank you' and that that "gift" literally just saved their life or helped a man get back his family from a blackmailer. It's an awesome feeling," you admitted, a real grin coming out. 

"Wow. You're one of a kind, Y//N," Elena said affectionately, smiling and tapping a mozzarella stick against yours. "Cheers!"

It was true, you both knew: there were no other arms dealers like you in the world. You could be making millions selling weapons to the highest bidder, but instead you literally gave weapons away to deserving people for free. You were like a weapons charity--and it had all started with Elena, back in Nepal. 

Cassie came back in just then, chattering away, and Elena helped her sit up with you. 

Sam shifted in his seat, seeing an opening, then stood up off the couch. "Nathan, you want another beer?" he asked, hoping that Nate might be too distracted by the TV to see what his big brother was doing. 

No such luck; Nate did pick up on it, but he made the conscious decision to be casual and keep looking ahead. "Sure, thanks," he said absently. 

"Victor?"

"Nah." Sully was compelled to do the same, taking his cues from Nate even though he really wanted to give Sam a hard time. 

Sam stepped past them, heading into the kitchen and hoping to God that he wasn't blushing.


	4. Chapter 4

"Room for one more?" Sam asked, switching gears as he arrived and deciding to focus more on Cassie. He did love his niece's company, after all, and figured this might be a good chance to segue into the conversation without being too obvious. 

"Uncle Sammy, this is Y/N," Cassie said proudly, waving at you with such obvious pomp and circumstance that you and Elena laughed. 

"Yes, thank you Cassie," Sam said sarcastically, but with an affectionate smile. Cassie was clearly used to that tone, and hummed with pleasure. You watched, bemused, and sipped your beer again.

"Hey, Elena," Nate called from the next room while Sam covered his nerves by turning and reaching into the fridge behind him for two beers. "Come see this!" 

There was nothing to see; Nate just wanted to get Elena out of the room, since he figured that Sam would be more likely to talk to you if it was just you and Cassie. That, and he didn't trust Elena's poker face for a second when it came to her first big match-making effort. 

She'd fallen for his bluff for a second, then frowned at him jokingly when he pulled her down onto the couch with him. "I wasn't gonna screw it up!" she whispered, smacking him lightly on the chest. "No offense, honey, but I'm not taking that chance," he laughed. Sully winked at her when she looked at him for support, and she laughed and leaned back to watch the game with them. 

"What are you guys watching now?" You asked Sam as he turned around, making conversation. He opened his beer, a little less fluidly than he usually did, and took a sip quickly to bolster himself.

"Water polo." 

You looked at him skeptically, trying and failing not to laugh, and his own natural grin started coming out as he saw your lips twist in a teasing little smirk. "W-water polo?" You asked, the laugh definitely in your voice now. He could see that you were trying to be diplomatic, but failing, and he liked you even more for it. Nate, meanwhile, was giving his brother the side-eye, and smiled to himself when he saw Sam starting to look and act more like himself. 

"Is water polo as...exciting...as cricket?" 

Sam started to sit down. "Oh, yeah," he said in a long, low, Boston drawl, sounding and moving as smoothly as a cat. "It's really heart-throbbing stuff. I had to come in here just to get away from all the brawls and the knockouts." You were giggling now, holding your beer in one hand and delicately covering your giggle with the other, and he seemed to warm up to his jokes. "Absolutely adrenaline-pinching. I'm telling you, I'm gonna have nightmares!" Cassie laughed too, not quite understanding but getting that her uncle was funny. "Is it polo like Marco Polo?" she asked. 

"Oh yeah, except everybody's Marco AND Polo," he said jokingly. Cassie appeared to be confused, so you laughed and waved at her to calm down. "Don't think about it too hard, Cassie," you said, your voice still warm from laughing. "Water polo is the most complicated and high-octane of games. Gladiators aren't around anymore because they were too scared to play it." 

Sam laughed at that, and Nate could hear that it was his real one. He nudged Elena, and she winked.


	5. Chapter 5

"So why ARE you watching water polo?" You asked curiously, the laughs dying down just a smidge. 

Sam rolled his eyes, his grin coming through despite trying to be irritated. He turned his head toward the living room and yelled "Because NATHAN over here had the dumbass idea to start being sophisticated--" 

"LANGUAGE!" Nathan and Elena both roared. You cracked up at hearing that, and so did Sam. His laugh sounded different than it had at first; cuter, you decided. Less like he was trying to sound like a serious manly-man and more like he was just genuinely kind of giggling. And he was in good shape, too; you'd noticed when his back muscles had rippled through his long-sleeved dark gray shirt as he reached for the beers. But then again, it hadn't really surprised you; everyone in this family seemed to be in good shape, all the time. He might have been a bit taller than Nathan, and lanky as opposed to Nathan's broad-shouldered form, but he was still clearly not someone to tangle with in an alley. And you saw some tattoos on his neck, birds it looked like. Swallows. Prison time, you'd guess, although it wasn't really your place to. You'd done a little prison time yourself, on occasion, although only for short stints, and you had similar, but very tiny, little bird tattoos on the inside of both your wrists. 

"Y/N, do you swear as much as Uncle Sammy does?" Cassie asked, face red from all the excitement. You chuckled and sipped your beer again, looking at her but feeling Sam's eyes on you. 

"Sometimes. When somebody deserves it." 

"You mean like when somebody's making you watch WATER POLO?" Sam hollered the end of his sentence, clearly for Nathan to hear, and everybody laughed again. 

"Sam, one day you're going to have a job that requires KNOWLEDGE of water polo-"

"NO I WON'T NATHAN!" 

"--And then you'll be INCREDIBLY INDESCRIBABLY GRATEFUL TO YOUR PRECIOUS LITTLE BROTHER for displaying such wisdom," Nathan said definitively. Elena cracked up beside him. 

Sam gave you a long-suffering look. "See, Y/N, this is what I have to deal with." 

You gave him a pitying little smile, trying not to look too mocking. "I'm sorry for your troubles."

"Thank you," Sam said delicately, and tipped his beer towards you in gratitude surprisingly formally. You huffed another little happy laugh, taking another mozzarella stick. 

"Y/N, if you eat so much, why are you so skinny?" Cassie asked, and you almost spit out your food from laughing. Sam gaped at Cassie, the gape turning into incredulous laughter when he saw you were laughing too. 

"Cassie, you're not supposed to--" Sam coughed, hitting himself on the chest while still laughing "talk about girls' weight--"

You were still laughing, and you could hear the others laughing in the living room, Elena's laugh ringing out high over the other masculine ones. 

"Why not?" Cassie asked curiously, once the laughter had softened to teary-eyed chuckles. You wiped your eyes from laughing, and Sam was doing the same since his beer had gone up his nose a bit (although he tried to cover it, convinced that it was not manly to suffer from fizzy-nose-sting). 

"I can talk about Uncle Sammy's weight," she said, pointing to him brightly. Sam was still chuckling a little, wiping at his face, but you felt his eyes go to you sheepishly. 

"It's different for guys," you said, taking a beer swig to completely swallow any rogue crumbs. 

"Well Uncle Sam is skinny too. But he's got muscles," Cassie said, and you chuckled again seeing that Sam had already been opening his mouth to protest being called "skinny" before she redeemed herself. Hearing the muscles comment made him swell with pride--literally. You were pretty sure you could see his chest puffing and his shoulders flexing. 

How did guys HAVE muscles in their shoulders? You wondered. 

"I have muscle," you said faintly, although you didn't sound very confident about it. 

"Well Uncle Sammy has it because of his job. Why do you have it?" she asked. Sam looked a little nervous at the mention of his job, but he reminded himself that you probably already knew if you were so close with Elena and Nathan. Besides, Nathan would definitely have warned him if there was something to hold back on. 

You shrugged. "I swim a lot, for fun." 

"Really? In the ocean?"

"Yep," You nodded, taking another stick and hoping she didn't say anything else to make you choke. 

"All by yourself?"

"Yep." 

"Isn't that scary? Or lonely? Or both?"

You chewed on your food for a second, but laughed through it a little, shaking your head. "No, I like it out there by myself. It's quiet." 

Cassie made a show of shutting her mouth and covering it dramatically, eyes bugging out, and you heard Sam laugh. "No, Cassie, you don't have to be quiet NOW," you said, giggling. "But on the ocean, it's nice when it's quiet. Music is nice sometimes, but otherwise it's nice to just listen to the whales and the waves."

Cassie gaped, and Sam looked interested. "Whales?" he asked. 

"Yeah, I splurged on some instruments that let me listen to what they're saying underwater. It's called whalesong," you said to Cassie. "It's my favorite thing to listen to in the world. It's like magic. And they can use it to find each other over a thousand miles away. Isn't that amazing?"

"Can you take me someday? To hear the whales?" 

"Yeah, sure," you said cheerily, happy to get her excited about the beautiful ocean creatures. "We can make a day of it. Check your fancy calendar." 

Cassie laughed and ran away. You looked at Sam, surprised. "Wait--does she actually have a social calendar? What is she, a debutante?" You kept your voice joking, sensing that Sam would get your sense of humor, and he did, letting out another one of those adorable husky giggles. 

"Oh, yeah. Learned everything about it from me."

You laughed and sipped your beer. 

"Want another one?" He asked, leaning back easily to reach for the fridge behind him but still facing you. You were impressed; to keep one's torso in limbo like that suggested at some serious abs. 

"Oh, I'm not even close to done yet," you said laughingly. Elena had just gotten up and started walking by to grab some food, and she stopped next to you. "Don't even bother asking for another hour, Sam," she chuckled. "Y/N here is the slowest drinker on the planet. It's practically impossible to get her drunk; she just SIPS everything!" 

"I do not," you declared, as you took a small drink from your bottle. Elena pointed. "HA! Sip!" 

"No! That wasn't a sip! That was a-tiny swig!" 

"Nope! Sip sip sip!" She laughed. 

"I've gotta call it, Y/N," Sam said in his low Boston voice, reaching back for his own beer. "That kinda seemed like a sip." 

You held up your hands in surrender. "Sure, take her side. This is the welcome I get. No wonder I never visit." 

"You're here like every day." Elena laughed, and Sam perked up. "Really? How come I haven't seen you?" 

"I come by during the day, usually," you said. "I tend to work at night."

"Where do you work?" He leaned forward, like he was settling in for a long story, his eyes alert. 

"The art museum. It's decent money, but I'm not an art expert or anything." 

"What ARE you an expert in?" he asked, and you raised an eyebrow slightly, curious. That eyebrow raise made his breath catch for a second; you'd subconsciously done it, not as an attempt to be flirty, but it had an effect all the same. 

"What makes you think I'm an expert in anything?" 

Sam shrugged nonchalantly. "You seem smart. Smart people find something to know everything about."

"Well, thanks for the compliment." You sipped your beer, and made a face at Elena as she walked back by, pointing to you and clearly mouthing "Sippppp" as she went. "I guess mine would be maritime history, then. Just for fun," you added, since his eyes had widened and his jaw had dropped (unbeknownst to you, it was for the second time that night). "Since I like being out on the water and in boats and everything."

"By maritime history..." he paused, and you got the abrupt feeling that this question was somehow immensely important. "Do you mean pirates?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Yeah, of course," you said happily. "Everything's better with pirates." 

Sam was staring at you as if you'd grown wings. 

"Where are you going?" You heard Elena ask in the moment of silence, and saw Nate moving to get up. "I wanted another beer," he said (having never received said beer from Sam, and patiently decided to ignore it for a while), and you stood up from your chair. 

"Here," you reached toward Sam, and thought you saw him jump at the surprise movement, eyebrows going up. "I'll bring it for you, Nathan," you called as Sam awkwardly reached behind him to the fridge. Because of your long, extended arm and delicate fingers reaching towards him, and because he was twisting, your fingers accidentally touched his upper right side for a second, up near his ribs. "Sorry!" You said, pulling your hand away a little; he shot forward so fast at the contact that he actually almost fell over, catching the counter at the last second to right himself in his chair. "Sorry," you said again, laughing, and he handed you the beer with a little "aheh" sound that you assumed was some kind of embarrassed laugh. 

You got up and moved over to the living room, giving Sam a second to recover himself. He heard Nathan tell you "Ah, see THIS is why you're my favorite person besides Elena and Cassie and Sully and Sam." 

You laughed, too thick-skinned to be offended. It did make you a little sad to see them all together sometimes; they had a family, and you...didn't. Nate had a sibling, and you didn't. They even had a father figure, and you didn't. When these thoughts came to you, as they often did, you always just reminded yourself that at least you had them as friends. At least you had someone to BE with on a Friday night like this. 

You went for that same tactic again today, reminding yourself of it and moving on with a laugh. Cassie reappeared, brandishing an actual calendar, and you spent the next several minutes going over her schedule patiently back in the kitchen with Sam looking on. You were a little embarrassed at touching him yourself, so you focused on Cassie; little did you know, he was doing the same thing. That touch had been electric, and sent fiery vibrating warmth shooting out from the very spot you'd touched, so intensely that he was still barely recovering. He'd had sex with lots of women, and he'd NEVER felt something like that before, never. It was intoxicating. 

He wanted more. 

But ironically, as the minutes and minutes went by and Cassie kept talking, the very niece he'd originally used as a decoy was now becoming a hindrance. He wanted to talk to you more, alone, but nobody could stop Cassie when she was on a roll. 

Nathan and Elena--checking over every thirty seconds or so--spotted the problem after about fifteen minutes, since something surprising had happened and the water polo game actually HAD gotten exciting. But now, seeing the issue, Elena promptly stood up. "Okay, Cassie, time for bed," she said kindly, but firmly. After the usual routine--a mild complaint, some encouraging "see you soons!" from you and the others, one last little complaint before acceptance--Cassie was up in bed. 

And Sam braced himself, excited to finally have you alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pirates line? That's a direct quote from the movie The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, which is one-of-a-kind and can be found here ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOUksDJCijw ). I'm not a serious gamer or anything but the movie is very funny! 
> 
> Also, it's totally true. Everything IS better with pirates, am I right? Maybe Sam Drake will see that I said that and fall in love with me...


	7. Chapter 7

"I know most people go for Anne Bonny," you were saying ten minutes later, taking another sip of your still-not-empty beer while you discussed piracy "but I've always been partial to Jacquotte Delahaye, myself. You?"

"Ohh, Henry Avery," Sam said, smirking. "Avery all the way." You nodded in assent, being fully aware of the pirate's fascinating--albeit unpleasant--nature, as well as the Drake brothers' discovery of Libertalia. 

"You know, your pirate colony was all anybody was talking about in this industry for quite a while," you said, allowing yourself to be visibly impressed, and Sam preened at the praise, leaning back in his chair and gesturing to himself smoothly. 

"What can I say, Y/N, Nathan and I were always destined for greatness!" 

You smiled at that, genuinely happy for them. You didn't know much of their story, but you knew enough. These boys had been through some hard times, just like you, and it was part of why you had liked Nathan Drake instantly when you met him in Nepal. 

Sam seemed to think along the same lines as you--either that, or he was psychic--because he leaned forward over the table again and took another cheerfully relaxed swig. You were still sipping yours, but had lost count of how many beers HE'D had. 

"So where did you and Elena meet, anyway?"

"Nepal," you responded brightly, watching his eyes flicker with recognition. You gestured towards the happy couple on the couch with your beer bottle. "That's where I met Nathan, too, actually. I was Elena's guide for her show."

"So you'd spent lots of time in Nepal, then?" Sam looked interested, leaning further forward. If he wasn't careful, you chuckled to yourself, he was going to fall right off that stool he was perched on. 

You nodded, taking another sip. Apparently, you were a bit of a lightweight, because this gradually-sipped bottle was enough to start giving you a buzz. "I did, actually. Was a guide in Madagascar for a few years before that."

"Ahh, my favorite place," Sam chuckled. He winked at you, presumably in reference to the fact that Madagascar's King's Bay had been a VERY big factor in the finding of Libertalia, and you laughed, not really knowing how else to respond. You'd never been particularly good with winks. What was a person supposed to DO when they were the wink-ee? 

"Languages come naturally to you or somethin'?" he asked, his Boston accent as smooth and husky as the beer that twirled in the bottle's base. 

You were already nodding, nibbling another mozzarella stick. "Whoop. Sorry," he laughed, realizing he'd asked right when you'd started to chew. "Don't choke or nothin'. I don't know CPR."

"That would be the HEIMLICH, Sam," Elena said teasingly as she walked by for more snacks. Apparently water polo was having a lull. She circled behind you, reaching for some of the sticks as Sam looked at her and as you officially swallowed. "Hey, Elena, what kind of trouble did you two get up to in Nepal, anyhow?" 

Elena looked at you, and the two of you cracked up. A slow smirk spread across Sam's face at that, and his eyebrows raised as your laughter died down. "So wait, what--"

"NOPE!" Elena said, taking her snacks and doing a little pirouette to head back to Nate, and you shook your head, chuckling as you dipped another mozzarella stick. "Sorry, Sam. We are NOT telling you."

As you'd predicted, Sam's curiosity was only piqued--and as he leaned forward, the stool decided it had had enough. The last thing you saw was Sam's head and one hand flailing as he fell down onto the kitchen floor--and the last thing you heard, after more laughter and some belated goodbyes when somebody noticed the time, was your own still-lingering cackle of laughter as you headed home. 

They were always a fun bunch, you knew--but Sam Drake was HILARIOUS. And as you walked towards your apartment looking up at the stars, you felt yourself laugh again. 

Meanwhile, back at Nathan and Elena's, Sam was outside smoking a cigarette, laughing too.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Sam coming soon!
> 
> The plot's from Uncharted 2.

That night had been full of laughs, thanks to Sam, but it was only a few minutes after you'd slid into bed that your thoughts turned to a subject that had been brought up; one that had definitely been fun at the beginning, but whose ending you remembered slightly differently than Elena did.

Nepal.

6 Years Ago

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You, Jeff, and Elena stumbled past the city's battered-looking alleyways, the three of you still reeling a little from the most recent shock of a grenade. You were on the trail of a war criminal named Zoran Lazarevic, and had tracked him down in Kathmandu--but the man's presence there, and his sudden rampage against the innocent city, was still a complete puzzle to your trio. Nepal had been fun at first, filled with hilarious hi-jinks more than hard news--but no longer. 

Elena pulled the two of you to the right suddenly, both of you toting guns at the ready while Jeff clutched his camera. "In here," she said as you followed her into a clear alleyway, "looks okay for now. Let's take a breather and get some B-roll." 

Jeff straightened, pleased to have something to do, while you leaned against a nearby wall and fixed up your French braid. You felt Jeff's eyes glance over your body as your back arched in a stretch, and granted him a smile. He was a sweetheart, as you'd been discovering on this trip, and you liked hanging out with him more than you'd expected. Elena, too, although you'd already read enough of her work before this venture to know that she was a capable investigative reporter. 

Of course, none of you had particularly expected to end up chasing the Russian genocidal maniac here of all places. Nor had you expected that he'd start tearing the place apart.

Jeff readied his camera as Elena started recapping what had just happened and which temples had been bombed; you knew he'd been feeling ineffectual and embarrassed, since you and Elena had the guns (and the combat experience), so he was visibly relieved to be doing something in his wheelhouse. And Jeff WAS good at what he did, you'd noticed; he had a knack for filming candid moments without taking anything away from them, and for finding the picturesque in simple sights. You'd complimented him on it just this morning, and both of you had blushed. Normal guys hit on you with confidence and James Bond-like auras of sassy; Jeff was genuinely a sweetie-pie, and no one was more surprised than you to find that you were developing a strong crush.

All thoughts of Jeff were jolted out of your mind, however, when a strapping young brunette man--good-looking, with boyish blue eyes, dashing cheekbones, and frisky hair--suddenly appeared around the corner, aiming a gun at you. 

You froze, unable to raise your own pistol in time. "Whoa! Hey-hey-don't shoot!" Jeff said quickly, stepping forward, camera in one hand. The well-built stranger's gun snapped towards movement to his right--Elena--then immediately lowered as he and Elena's faces both fell in shock. 

"Nate...?" she asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow as she lowered her own gun. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Elena?" Nate asked, face looking pleasantly surprised in contrast to her skeptical one--but his next words were cut off as Jeff side-swiped him out of nowhere, camera left on the ground. 

"Jeff, don't!" Elena rushed forward. 

"Wait. You know this guy?" Jeff asked, still holding Nate down but looking up at her like a dog being told to drop a toy. 

"Yeah." Elena held out a hand, helping Jeff back up, while you tentatively stepped closer and kept an eye out on the group's surroundings. Lazarevic seemed to be farther off for now...

"This is Jeff and Y/N, we're tracking down a fugitive war criminal here. But what's YOUR angle on all this misery? Gonna loot a few temples, rob the museum?" she asked sardonically.

Chloe Frazer showed up before Nathan could respond--inadvertently revealing the duo's involvement with Lazarevic along the way--and she pulled him aside. "Nate, really? THAT's your ex?" she asked with a chuckle. You were regrouping with an embarrassed Jeff and a grumpy Elena, and didn't hear. 

"What?" he looked at her, getting defensive. 

"I just never had you pegged for the white-bread, picket-fence type," Chloe smirked. "That one, maybe," she said, gesturing towards you, and Nate did give you an appreciative glance "but not the conservative journalist." 

"Hey, she's a lot tougher than she looks, you know," Nate said testily. 

"Aw, she broke your heart, didn't she?"

"No, she didn't," he scoffed weakly. 

You didn't know what the newcomers were muttering about in the corner, or really what Jeff and Elena were discussing, and were left to your own devices for a moment of relative quiet--meaning you were also the only one who heard the helicopter blades of the incoming chopper. 

"Guys...?" You said suddenly, making all four people look at you as you readied your gun and started walking forward, eyes on the path behind "there's a chopper coming--"

"SHIT." Nate swore "Run!"

The next hour was an intense whirlwind of gunfire, explosions, and more than a few high kicks on your part--until Nate and the new woman, Chloe apparently, left you three in a temple's entrance to investigate its contents further. The three of you were content to rest--until the front door was blasted open by an RPG, however, leaving you and Elena crawling on the floor winded and Jeff...

Jeff...you looked around for him, and saw a crumpled bloody body in the corner. 

"Oh, no..." you whispered the words as you and Elena crawled over to him, dragging the semi-conscious cameraman behind cover as gunfire raged "Jeff--"

His eyes opened for a second to look at you, but then another RPG hit and the three of you were blasted back out of cover. It was a full half hour before Nate and Chloe managed to fight the onslaught and make it back out--and each minute felt like an hour as you and Elena alternated between protecting Jeff with return fire and trying to stem the bleeding. 

"We need to keep moving," Chloe said as the two of them arrived, out of breath. They'd taken the above snipers out, so the courtyard was temporarily at a quiet standstill. 

"He's hit." Elena gestured to Jeff, and Nathan quickly knelt down to be beside him. "I'm okay..." Jeff protested weakly, and you met his gaze in a worried glance before his eyes closed again. "Lemme see," Nate said gently, lifting Jeff's hand for a second, and Jeff groaned in pain. 

"All right, you're gonna be fine. Think you can stand?" 

Jeff nodded. "I think so..."

"All right, c'mon, I'll help you," Nate said quickly and kindly, immediately moving to wrap Jeff's arm around him. You instinctively moved to do the same with his left, seeing Chloe fidgeting nervously near the exit in the side of your vision. 

"Here we go, up--" You both lifted him, and all three of you groaned. Chloe sighed. "Nate--"

"He's fine, aren't you, chief?" Nate cut her off brightly, deliberately keeping the concern out of his voice and eyes as he gave Jeff a bracing smile. 

"He's never gonna make it, we have to leave him!" the woman snapped, and it was hard to tell whose glare came at her the hardest. In retrospect, you figured yours had been the most vicious one. 

"Chloe, get the goddamn door open!" Nate said firmly, and Chloe groaned and opened it with a solid kick. "You're gonna get us all killed!" 

As it turned out, Chloe was wrong--but, when Lazarevic finally caught up with your group (and when she'd turned back to their side) he made short work of the extraneous member, killing Jeff in one straight shot. You jolted when the gun went off, and only vaguely remembered Elena yanking you out the exit when the three of you made your escape. The rest of the time in Nepal was chock-full of excitement, exotic locations, and villagers' kindness--not to mention Nate and Elena's romantic reunion--but you spent most of it just thinking about Jeff.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You shifted under your sheets, swallowing hard, then abruptly sat up to pull back your curtain and look at the stars. Maybe Jeff was up there...maybe he was one of them...you sighed and felt a pang as your heart twisted and some tears emerged. You always got like this when you thought of him...

Sniffling, you let them fall as you thought of your sweet Jeff and looked up at the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because SOMEONE needs to recognize and write about poor Jeff. <3
> 
> Also, how sweet is Nate when it comes to injured people in this game?! He'd totally make a cute doctor...sigh


	9. Chapter 9

Four days later, Elena finally got up the gumption--and the free time--to get Nathan alone and ask. As you'd both predicted, he was game for a trip to India--and now Elena, Nathan, Sam, and Sully sat around the kitchen table, making plans. 

"Okay." Elena leaned over the map. "From what my sources tell me, the biggest leader the Indian Army has to worry about is this guy Asav. And he's in our line of work, actually--he's managed to steal enough ancient artifacts to keep his little insurrection going for quite some time. Right now" she pointed "he's based here, in Mangalore, so that's where we need to be."

"Hmm." Sully looked pleased. "Sounds like we might actually get our hands on a little extra treasure along the way for our trouble. I like the sound of that."

Elena rolled her eyes patiently as Nate and Sam grinned. Sam leaned back with a cigarette. "Me too," he murmured appreciatively. 

"We're gonna need some serious heat to stand up to Asav, though," Sully added grimly with a sigh. Now it was Elena's turn to grin. "Well," she said, leaning back and folding up the map "THAT is where Y/N comes in."

Sam perked up so visibly as he straightened that Nate and Sully bit their lips to avoid laughing. "Y/N?"

Elena avoided the others' gaze, knowing they'd all start cracking up, but nodded agreeably. "Yup. Come on--we're meeting her in the harbor."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You arched your back, stretching in the afternoon sun and feeling the fabric of your wetsuit shift as it tightened. You glanced down the line of boats next to your own, wondering what was keeping the gang--for some reason, the memory of Jeff from a few days ago had still stuck with you, and you figured you could use some cheering up. And Sam, you thought--feeling a small smile grow on its own, surprising you a little--would be perfect for that. 

You'd also allowed yourself to build up a hope that Elena might want you to come along with them, since it had been a long time since the two of you had shared an epic adventure. Family life and 9 to 5 jobs did have their place, but you missed the thrill. 

"Y/N!" Elena popped up around a bend, waving cheerfully and trotting over as she was wont to do. You grinned and moved towards the back of the boat, the height of the deck making you lord over them slightly for a moment as you confidently grinned. Sam stared up at you as he approached, seeing your lithe figure clad in a sleek form-fitting swimsuit with the sun's rays behind you. You arched one hip cutely, and whatever composure Samuel Drake had flitted off into the air. 

"Hi, boys!" you chirped cheerily, smiling and gesturing an invitation. "Welcome aboard!" 

"Nice to see you again, Y/N," Sully said warmly, kissing your hand. You laughed at that, ignorant of Sam's jealous glower at the older man, and turned to the Drake brothers. Sam immediately smoothed his expression when he saw you looking, and actually appeared a little bashful. He put his hands in his pockets. "Hey, long time no see," he managed as Nate gave you a boisterous wave and a smile. 

"I hear you're off to India," you said breezily, looking expectantly at the four. "Am I coming along, Elena, or is this just a supply job?"

Elena didn't notice the relief that softened your shoulders when she nodded and said "You'd better be coming. I need another girl to keep me sane around these three!"--but Sam did, and his mouth twitched at the realization that you wanted to go. 

"For now, though," Sully coughed over Nate's scandalized scoff "we just need guns."

"Sure." You turned swiftly to the boat's helm. "Hold on, everyone--" you hit the gas, and the boat sped off to your secret coordinates. It was a sizeable amount of miles out, by design, and Sam quickly took the opportunity to sidle up to your side and start chatting. It was innocuous, really--a few questions about you and Elena's adventures, which you answered mischievously and vaguely, as well as plenty of pirate jokes and pirate trivia. The two of you started swapping conspiracy theories about Thomas Tew, both of you getting so interested that you almost missed the faint beeping. 

"Ah--" Sam paused mid-sentence, surprised by your little exclamation as you stopped the boat. "We're here." 

"What're you doin'?" Sam asked, almost teasingly, and you laughed a little uncomfortably at his quasi-flirtatious tone as you stepped over to the boat's side. "Just get ready to help me back up."

"Y/N?" Nathan looked concerned now, too, but Elena held him back with a soft hand. "I'll be right back!" you said in an easy, happy farewell--right before diving off the edge of the boat. The three boys darted to the railing, Sam leaning the farthest of all. 

"SHIT, where'd she go?!"

Elena laughed. "Guys, relax! She does this all the time!"

Nate and Sully relented and stepped back, but Sam didn't move until Nathan gently pushed him. "You heard her, Sam. It's fine," he said quietly, his understanding tone making Sam sheepishly meet his brotherly gaze. "She'll be right back!"

You popped up then--the coordinates marked a small reef, one that was unusually isolated and particularly full of nooks and crannies. Sam and the others jolted in surprise when a black mass came up with you--then all relaxed again, a little embarrassed, when they realized it was a large waterproof duffel bag. 

You surfaced with a gasp, soaked but smiling. "Okay, Sam," you said breathily, Sam already nudging Sully aside to help you up first "take the bag for me will you?"

Nate and Sully took the bag the rest of the way while Sam hurried to take your hand. He marveled for a second at it; it was so long and slender and smooth, fitting inside his own bigger and rougher one...

"Thank you," you said as he easily lifted you up, repeating it again a little louder when he didn't let go. His hand felt warm, and dry compared to your wet one--not to mention a little rough and strong--

"Right. Don't mention it," Sam said abruptly, letting you go and blinking his thoughts away. "So," you said cheerily, sitting down and opening the bag, "what do you need?"

Nate whistled. "Whew, Y/N, how many of those do you HAVE down there? And where'd you get all this?"

You shrugged blithely. "Here and there. I only steal from the bad guys. My version of charity work," you laughed. "Here" you pulled out some weapons, while the boys stared "we have the Mazur LDR, excellent sniper rifle--incredible range. Your usual RPG--a little heavy on the shoulder, this one, so maybe not for trekking...some of the usual, Para 45s, Deserts, AKs, shotgun...and this" you held up a Micro 9 millimeter, an intimidating and square-shaped handheld automatic pistol "is my personal favorite."

"Y/N does like her pistols," Elena joked knowingly, and for some reason you almost blushed. Perhaps because Sam was looking at you like you were a cookie he'd just seen in a jar... 

"Uh, yes to all of that," Nate eventually managed. 

"Oooh," Sully said, "some of those grenades too."

"Sounds good," you said, zipping up the bag. "Might as well be greedy and take the whole lot. Against Asav, we might need it. So" you stood up brightly, putting your hands on your hips and trying very hard not to make eye contact with the still-smirking Sam "when do we set out?"

An hour later, the group was disembarking and you were getting ready for work. Sam was the last to step off the deck, smirk still intact until you relented and nervously laughed. "What?"

"You're an ARMS DEALER." He said it almost disbelievingly--but something in his eyes looked awe-struck, or impressed, and made you want to bite your lip. 

"Aw, shucks," you said bashfully, wondering when the last time anyone had ever said 'Aw shucks' even was "lots of people are."

"Heh." It came out as a small, high-pitched little laugh from Sam's mouth, and he turned bright red. Realizing that he had most definitely NOT meant to make that sound any more than you had meant to use a 1940s-era expression, you quickly laughed it off. 

"See you in a few days, Sam," you said, stepping away and mercifully giving him an out. All Sam could muster was a wave--and a prayer that his blush would fade before he caught up with Victor and the others.


	10. Chapter 10

You heaved your duffel bag over your shoulder, having filled it with the usual equipment--and a few more guns to boot. The perks of flying private, you thought with an excited smirk as you neared the hangar, feeling the familiar taste of adventure add bounce to your sneakered feet. 

It was a hot, sunny day, and the others had just arrived after some drawn-out farewells to Cassie and her trusted babysitter. Charlie Cutter had taken a while to warm up to the idea of stepping in a few years back, but by now caring for Cassie was his favorite thing--and Nathan and Elena could relax, knowing that they had a 'nanny' who was genuinely ready for any kind of trouble. Sam had taken to calling Cutter 'Mary Poppins'--something he'd been punched for more than a few times. Today, he touched the small bruise that smarted on his cheekbone. Worth it, he thought with a proud little-boy smirk.

Sam was in a good mood today, partly due to a new adventure on the horizon--particularly one with YOU--and partly because nerves about seeing you again had caused him to have a couple drinks. 

"We're all set on my end, Elena," Sully called from the cockpit of his plane. She hopped up from where she was dangling her legs on the open plane door and headed in, smiling. "Boys," she added before talking to Sully, "keep an eye out for Y/N. She should be here soon."

Sam, shyness gone now that it was just his brother, elbowed Nathan cheerfully in the side. "Hey, Nathan," he murmured devilishly, raising an eyebrow in commiseration while his little brother gave him a bemused look "You don't suppose I could convince her to wear that wetsuit the entire time, do you?"

Nate laughed at the joke, pleased to hear some of his brother's flirty self coming back. The dizzying dance Sam did between sullen smartass and goofy trickster was one that he only really did with you--and Nathan had started to worry that it might be too much, that his message (i.e. 'I really, really like you') might not be getting across. But if Sam was finally feeling confident enough to really flirt--

You stepped onto the plane's runway then, aviator shades on, hair blowing in the hot breeze, tank top and hip-hugging khakis matching your olive duffel bag--and Sam could swear on his life that time stopped. Or, at least that some kind of movie slow-motion was happening...

This past week was the best you'd felt in a long-time--aside from some Jeff memories--so you felt yourself strutting a little and grinning as you approached the plane. The voice in your head chided you to maybe rein it back a little--you weren't a supermodel, after all--but you were just in such a good mood, and you were finally going on an ADVENTURE again--

So you strutted, keeping your shades on and beaming at the two wide-eyed boys as you stepped up. "Hi, boys!" you said happily. "Nice day for a transatlantic flight, isn't it!"

Nathan and Sam both nodded in slow unison, the comical sight making you laugh and flash your teeth in a wide smile again before stepping past. "Scuuuuse me," you said brightly as you passed Sam and stepped up into the plane. He faintly reached a hand after you, originally in an effort to help you up--but instead, the hand went up loosely in the air like a weak attempt at grabbing some ass. You didn't notice, though--nor did you notice Nate's swift smack-down of the offending hand.

"The fuck was that?" Nathan hissed at Sam, trying not to laugh or look too scandalized. Sam looked at him blankly. 

"What?" he asked innocently.

Nate rapped him on the chest with the back of his hand. "You just tried to grab her ASS!" he whispered, eyes wide. Sam was already shaking his head, looking at you nervously where you were now talking to Elena. "What? No! No, I didn't--"

"You DID. Jesus, Sam, deep breaths. You're gonna scare her." Nathan gave him a sympathetic pat before following you into the plane, and Sam stared after him for a second and gulped before hopping onboard.

"All right, kids," Sully said cheerful from the pilot's seat, cigar between his lips, "let's get this show on the road."

"Who's got Cassie?" you asked Elena, sitting down in the hull next to her. Sam and Nathan settled into the opposite seats nearby, Sam already contemplating getting another drink. "Cutter again?"

Elena nodded as Nate and Sam let out some stifled laughs. You gave them a curious look. "What?"

"Sam here" Nate laughed "likes to call Charlie 'Mary Poppins'."

"And CHARLIE" Sam said, bravery coming back a little again as he tapped at the bruise on his cheek "doesn't like it."

You giggled abruptly as you realized what he meant, leaning your head back and relaxing into the seat. "I can imagine he didn't. How did you guys meet Charlie, anyway?" you asked lightly. Nathan started in on the story while Elena started passing out snacks--making Sully groan at the ridiculous appetites on board with him--and you prepared for the fun flight ahead. 

Several hours and a few brief pit stops later, the small plane was plummeting from the Indian sky in a chaotic cacophony of screams and crashes and squeals, its tail completely blown off--and you decided, as the five of you all clutched your makeshift seatbelts desperately, that this flight was not that fun.


	11. Chapter 11

All you saw were green leaves for a few bizarrely-silent seconds--then the plane barreled into the fork of a tree with such force that the five of you were violently expelled, seatbelts be damned. You couldn't help grunts and groans as you were tossed and rolled along the inclined ground harshly, momentum finally stopping when you thumped into the trunk of another tree. Someone thunked right into you roughly from behind, the hill making them tumble past--and it was pure instinct that made you clutch the trunk with one hand and catch them firmly with the other. 

Looking down, you saw that it was Elena, who was swiftly adjusting for you to have a better grip--and that only a few hundred yards down, the hill ended in a sheer cliff. Nathan and Sam rolled down next within seconds, both grunting and huffing from the blows, and you briefly glimpsed Sully catching himself on a log further up over your head before you and Elena frantically caught the boys as best you could in a weird human chain. 

Sam was the furthest down, clutching Nathan's ankle while Elena fiercely held the younger Drake in a one-armed hug. "C-climb!" you called down urgently, and Sam was quick to start. 

"Ohhhh shit--" he swore nervously as Elena's grip started to slip and the two Drake brothers began to slide. "Here!" you cried, sticking out one leg further for Nate to grab on, hugging the tree with one arm despite the barks' scratches. You felt your other arm shake as it fought to support Elena. Nathan grabbed at your proffered thigh, propriety ignored in the effort to stop Sam's downward progress, and you all heaved a tremulous sigh of relief when the brothers' sliding stopped.

"Go!" Nate ordered his big brother through clenched teeth, you and Elena both straining. A long piece of cloth suddenly twitched over you, Elena, and Nathan's faces, startling the group as Sam climbed. 

"Here! Grab on!" Sully called from above. Sam grabbed the cloth with both hands and gave a little jump, being pulled up haphazardly over the others as his feet scrabbled to help crawl further up. Since the situation wasn't quite as urgent anymore, Nate managed an "Ow! Watch it!" as Sam stepped on his face. 

"Sorry!" Sam panted as he climbed. "Start comin' up after me!" 

"Ugh--" Nate tentatively took some of the cloth, swatting at it a little irritably as it fluttered near his nose "Sully, that tickles! This is gonna make me sneeze"

"Y/N, hang in there," Elena groaned as the two of you continued hanging last. You opened your mouth to respond with a 'hanging' quip--but were interrupted by Sam's caustic shout up above you. 

"Ohhh for chrissakes, Victor, those were your PANTS?!"

"Did you have a better idea?!"

"Oh God" a still-climbing Nathan grumbled right near your head as he now-reluctantly ascended "At least tell me they're not inside-out--"

"Shut up, Nate!" Sully snapped from the log above where you could only assume he and Sam were now tremulously perched. "You can get your own damn selves out of a jam next time, without my naked ass!"

"Why are you NAKED though?"

"I'd already packed all my underwear, Sam!" 

"Well, forget that now, we gotta get the girls down!"

"Don't you mean 'up'?!"

"Both of you SHUT up--"

"Guys!" you snapped. "For God's sakes--Elena, just climb up me to this trunk, okay?"

"Okay," Elena panted a little nervously. The ground underneath her had started crumbling a little bit, due to the boys' scramblings, and more hardscrabble dirt rolled out from under her feet. The two of you watched a pebble anxiously as it bounced over the edge. 

"Y/N!" Sam shouted down just as Nate shouted "Elena?!" 

The pants twitched into view again just as Elena had climbed you to the tree. "You first, Y/N," she breathed. "Your arms are shaking--"

It was true; you'd been holding the most weight, and could already feel some adrenaline fading. With a wince and a slight groan you started up the pants, feeling them tug a little more when Elena joined in behind you.

"Heeere we go," Sam said in a deliberately calm and cheerful voice, already sounding relieved as the three of them pulled you up hand-over-hand. "Y/N, do me a favor and don't look over at Sully until he's got his pants on." 

"You're just afraid that I'll ruin all other men for her."

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Hilarious," Sam retorted with a snap, too busy watching you climb to have much weight in the fight.

"Elena, ya okay?" Nate called down to her anxiously. She nodded with a faint laugh. "Nothing a few years of therapy won't fix."

"Up we go," Sam grunted pleasantly, heaving you up onto the long log beside him. "Thanks," you breathed, helping pull up Elena. As soon as she'd gotten into Nathan's arms, Sully yanked his pants back. "There," he grunted moments later. "You're all welcome."

"Thank you, Sully," you said with a smile, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Sully couldn't help raising a taunting eyebrow as Nate started leading the way on a warped sideways climb back to the plane. "See," he said to Sam, who gave him a venomous glare "at least the lady knows how to demonstrate a little gratitude."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Sam muttered, passing him by grumpily to get right behind you. Sully chuckled as he watched the younger man climb, eyes so focused on you that the great Samuel Drake actually almost lost his footing again.


	12. Chapter 12

"Okay," you said with a pant, dusting yourself off in the clearing as everyone finally stood up straight on safer ground. "For fuck's sake. Does anyone happen to know who that was??" you asked, pointing to the rocket-shattered plane. Elena blinked at you, surprised, while Sam let out a little laugh. He'd never heard you swear like that before. 

"Well, if I had to guess," Nathan said brightly, walking towards some scattered fallen wreckage "I'd say no idea." 

"Great," you panted again, putting your hands on your hips and directing your focus to a nearby part of the plane. "Well, we all have some enemies," you reasoned absently, picking up some debris. "But I don't know about you guys; I don't have many in this part of the world. Well--" you and Elena gave each other a look "except in Nepal."

"Well, there's always Rafe," Sam chimed in grimly, stepping closer to the tree and rifling through the wreckage right underneath. 

"But would he really make the effort to follow us this far into the Indian jungle?" Nate asked. "I mean, Rafe really doesn't like getting dirty."

"True," Sam chuckled drily. "Maybe he hired someone to do it FOR him, though."

"Yeah, maybe."

Sully sighed surprisingly emotionally as he stood off to the side and looked up at his plane. Concerned, Nathan moved closer to him. "Sully?"

"Goddamn," Sully murmured vehemently "I am getting REALLY TIRED of this shit making me lose my planes."

"How many times has this happened?" you asked slowly, eyes meeting the others' nervously as you all realized Sully was genuinely upset. 

"Six. That's not including all the landings that have stopped just SHORT of a plane-totaling crash."

"Oh." There was sympathetic silence for a while as the rest of you started picking through the debris again. You and Sam glanced at a helpless-looking Nathan, and felt bad. He genuinely didn't seem to know what to do when his surrogate father was upset, or ailing, and just loitered next to him in anxiety. Sully sighed after a minute, realizing that his 'kid' was looking at him all puppy-eyed, and gave Nathan a one-armed little shake of a hug. "Eh, don't worry about it Nate," he said warmly. "I'll get over it. And at least we're all still alive."

Nate kept looking at him, though, until Sully laughed affectionately and ruffled his head. Sam bristled a little, big-brother-jealousy never quite gone, but tamped it down. He'd been getting better about Nathan's father-son relationship with Sullivan--but it still hurt.

"Hey." You tapped his arm gently, distracting him, and nodded towards the tree. "Think you can give me a boost?"

"You're goin' UP there?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow. You shrugged, looking up at the branches. "Most of our luggage and supplies were under our seats; they might still be stuck."

"All right," he laughed, crouching and holding out his hands, "you're the boss."

You let out a little hum of amusement as he lifted you up to a branch, neither of you acknowledging the buzzy feeling that happened when his hands shifted--and Sam definitely did NOT sneak some appreciative looks as you climbed.

"Good news, guys!" you called from the cockpit a few minutes later. Suitcases and duffels started falling from the sky, one by one. "Hey, thanks Y/N!" Nate said happily as everyone retrieved their belongings. Sam waited for you to come down, feeling relieved but a little disappointed when he saw you lowering a rope. He'd been hoping he'd get to touch you again--

"Okay then," you gasped as you landed softly. Reaching for the weapons duffel, you started passing out guns. "Ah-ah" Sam said, pulling out the Micro and holding it up as if it were flowers "for you."

You smiled coquettishly, internally shocked by your own behavior, and took the pistol. "Thank you." Sam beamed, and you could swear you saw his chest puff. 

"So," Nate said, looking around and holding the map "according to this, Mangalore should be...that way. Couple hours' hike."

"Come on, Nate," Sully groaned grumpily. "At least do what you usually do and just keep saying 'we're almost there'. Don't tell me it's gonna be hours."

"Sorry, Sully," Nate laughed, patting him on the back. "We're almost there! Right around the corner--you'll see! Trust me!" 

Shoelaces were re-tied, guns were loaded, and your little group set off. You paused to appreciate the cliffside view, seeing the towering Ghats' beauty now that they weren't looming quite so close--and meanwhile, the lingering Samuel Drake was enjoying a view of his own.


	13. Chapter 13

"So," Sam panted, two hours later, "Y/N." You turned to look at him, panting just as hard as everyone else. The jungle had gotten progressively hotter and more humid as you walked, covering everyone's skin in a sheen and turning an ambitious hike into what was starting to feel like a rough rain-forest scene from Predator. 

"Is this," Sam panted, restarting "Is this your first time back to Central Asia since" pant "Nepal?"

You nodded; there was supposed to be a small village just over this hill, but it was a hell of a hill. "Y-yes," you panted, smiling breathily, "it is--"

"Made it!" Nate hooted triumphantly from the top, sweaty but grinning despite himself. "Perfect, there's a train!"

Elena groaned. "Do you NOT remember the last train Chloe and Nadine were on in Asia, and the last one YOU were on in Asia? NEITHER ONE WENT WELL," she hollered up to him, cupping her hands around her mouth for emphasis. Nate scoffed. "Nonsense! Come on!"

Another fifteen minutes later, everyone had given up on small talk aside from Sully's vicious swearing--because as it turned out, the train was moving. And not one of you was feeling energetic enough to catch it--that is, until Elena somehow got hold of a 4 by 4 to ride alongside. 

"Elena, have you ALWAYS had such a talent for automobile theft?" you asked jokingly as she drove it over. "I seem to remember you doing lots of this in Nepal--AND Yemen, AND Borneo, AND Hawaii, AND Australia--"

"What? I like driving!"

"Did you steal other children's trucks as a kid?"

"Only SOMEtimes," she laughed, as everyone piled in and got into a crouch. Sam knelt next to you, and winked. "You ready for this?"

"Ha," you laughed a little caustically. "I guess I'd better be!"

Everyone took turns jumping as the train sped up, and Sam caught you on your turn, pulling you up onto the train's roof and giving you a pat on the back. Neither of you acknowledged the fact that his hand had lingered on your waist--or the fact that you'd seen his biceps flexing in the lift, and liked it. 

Elena came last, being caught by Nate, and she let out a sigh of relief. "Whew! Never really thought I'd be doing so much train-jumping in my lifetime."

"Yeah, well, neither did I," Sully huffed grumpily, bent over and breathing hard. Nate started hovering again, worrying that Sully was sick or was still upset about his plane, but Sam rapped him on the arm. "No time to do puppy eyes, Nathan! Victor, get it together!"

Victor waved him off. "I'm comin', just go!"

The next two hours were a montage of jumping from car to car, a particularly rough train dismount, and Sully's masterful negotiation of a ride the remaining distance in a farmer's saffron-cart. 

"This woulda been a hell of a lot better in my PLANE," he muttered, quietly so Nathan didn't hear. Meanwhile, Sam laughed. "Y/N," he said, pointing to you and giggling again, "you're COVERED..." 

You and Elena giggled back. "So are you..."

Because the empty cart usually had saffron in it, it was full of yellow pollen-like dust--and while Nathan was busy sneezing, the other four of you had been being jostled against each other by the cart-ride, resulting in some very dusty-yellow-people. If you and Sam hadn't both been aching for showers or swims now, you both would've been relieved that the saffron was covering your blushes. There had been a LOT of jostling, after all...and Sam had been hot, so he'd taken his overshirt off, exposing nothing but tanned muscular arms and shoulders wrapped in a manly white sleeveless shirt...

"It's even covered your tattoos," you gestured near his neck, hoping he'd think that was what you'd been staring at. Sam blinked between chuckles, surprised that you'd noticed them. Then--

"Hey," he said, surprised, suddenly taking your inner wrist and rubbing his thumb back and forth across it to clear the view. His surprise had made him bold, and you felt your cheeks heat again under the dust. "You have them too--"

The farmer barked something to the back from his seat then, and everyone embarked on a quick tuck-and-roll out of the cart. 

"Ah," Sully said, in better spirits now that they'd finally arrived at the city's outskirts, "Messy but effective." He promptly started dusting himself off, after giving the farmer a wave. Nate was hanging back, still sneezing in little Mickey Mouse-squeaks.

"So now what?" You asked Elena, feeling Sam's eyes still on you. He knew what those tattoos meant...had you been in prison, too?

"Well, from what I heard Asav is mainly in the Aaravtha zone," she said, hands on her hips as she surveyed the city's buildings. "So...somewhere over there." She gestured to a far-off area that looked mostly residential, and Sully groaned.

"Dammit, how 'bout a hotel and a shower first?" he asked. Sam suddenly piped in. "I...could actually go for that myself," he said tentatively, eyes entreating. Elena looked at the raggedy yellow bunch, and laughed. "All right, all right, fine!" she said. "We look like a bunch of buttercup-happy bumblebees."

"Nice alliteration," Nate gasped between sneezes. Sam, noticing his brother's congestion, promptly came over and put an arm around him. "Hey, y'okay?" He asked, giving him a little shake. Nate nodded weakly. "Don't suppose they have lots of Benadryl in India, do they?" 

"I do," you said quickly, reaching into your bag. Nate sighed as you handed him the pills. "My hero." 

"Yeah. Saving the damsel," Sam joked, making Nate give him a glare. 

"Who're you calling--*ah-CHEEP*--"

Sam laughed. "I'm sorry, Nathan, what was that?"

"Shut--*ah-CHEEP*--shut UP--"

"Those sneezes never get old," Elena said, laughing and rolling her eyes. "C'mon, hotel's this way."

Sam caught up with you after Nate had stopped sneezing, running to your side in a little trot. "Hey, Y/N," he said, practically bumping into the crowds as he kept his eyes fixed on you. "You ever been in prison?"

You glanced at him, and nodded. "A few times--all with and BECAUSE of Chloe Frazer," you said ruefully. "It was all in foreign countries, but not always real prisons. Sometimes we were just, you know," you gestured in a wave "prisoners."

"Of enemy treasure hunters?" Sam looked serious. You shrugged. "Yeah. Chloe tends to run her mouth off."

He laughed. "I noticed. So" he dodged someone else, still sticking with you "did you two start working together after Nepal?"

"Yeah. We stopped after a while, since we got tired of getting arrested," you laughed. 

"Who did your birds?" Sam nodded at your wrists. 

"Friend of a friend. NOT Chloe's," you joked. He smirked. You nodded towards his neck. "Yours?"

"Well, Nathan drew 'em, but I got a friend of Charlie Cutter's to actually do it."

You smiled. "Nice."

"Ahhh," Sully said up ahead, "victory." The hotel was a mediocre one, but suitable--and the owner promptly forced all of you to first rinse off outside before coming in, since you really were leaving a trail of saffron in your wakes. 

Sam tried his best not to stare at you rinsing off under the showerhead, he really did, but--well--

Some staring might have happened.


	14. Chapter 14

You closed your eyes as you stood under the running showerhead, letting the water cleanse your skin and completely unaware of Sam's gaze. You had other things on your mind...namely, Chloe Frazer.

You hadn't been lying to Sam; you and Chloe HAD worked together for quite a while after meeting that first time in Nepal. Adventure- and logistic-wise, you tended to have a similar approach, and your dynamic had been an effective one in your treasure hunts. But...well, you'd never forgotten what Chloe did that first time in Nepal, when Jeff lay dying and she fought to leave him behind. And Chloe knew it, too, so the two of you had always settled for staying nothing more than work associates, never friends. As an even-tempered person, you weren't necessarily rude or hostile--but you definitely held back and kept a cool distance.

Elena was fully aware of this fact, just as she was aware of Jeff's position as a sore spot--so it was with a tentative expression that she approached you half an hour later in the hotel room. Everyone was in the process of changing clothes and freshening up--and Nate was chugging more Benadryl, even though it was going to make him sleepy--and you looked up from retying your shoes as Elena sat next to you on the bed. 

"Soooo," she said slowly, but lightly. You raised an eyebrow, recognizing that voice. You'd just rarely ever heard it used with YOU. "There is a friend of ours here to help."

"Who?" Sam asked curiously. 

"Chloe Frazer," Elena said, still-lightly--but she avoided your gaze, focusing on Sam. Your fingers stilled on your shoelaces for just a second before you regained your composure.

Sam sensed that something was weird in Elena's body language, and glanced at you--but you were back to tying your shoes. "Cool," he said carefully. "We like Chloe. We've worked with her a whole bunch of times, haven't we, Nathan."

"Yep," Nate wheezed. Sam sighed worriedly. "Nathan, maybe you should stay here. The pills're gonna knock you out anyway, it might as well be in here instead of when we're out on the streets exploring."

"Nah I'm--I'm good" the squeaky little whisper was enough to make them all laugh, and Sam gave Nathan a mild but affectionate shove towards the bed. "SLEEP, Nathan. NOW."

You couldn't help smiling at the brotherly behavior, and could practically hear Sam saying the same thing to Nathan when he was a little kid. Elena shifted a little on the bed, trying to get your attention, and gave you puppy eyes when your smile dimmed and you sent her a neutral glance. It wasn't until the group--now sans a grumpy, but undeniably-sleepy-Nathan--had headed back outside and started walking that she caught up with you. 

"Look, I'm SORRY," she murmured earnestly, too quiet for Sam and Sully to hear, "I know Chloe's not your favorite--"

You scoffed a little, focusing on looking ahead instead of her. "That's an understatement." 

"But it won't be so bad. You've worked with her before..." 

"I know, I know." You sighed in surrender, and avoided her gaze. There was a sad silence now; Elena knew you were upset by thinking about Chloe and Jeff, and didn't know what else to say. 

Sam slid in between the two of you then, holding up some meat on a stick. "Look, Y/N! Snacks!" His grin was so goofy and comical that you couldn't help but laugh and accept it, taking a big bite. Sam grinned proudly, putting an arm around you and pulling you forward to show you something else, and you allowed yourself to smile again. With Sam around, this wouldn't be so bad.


	15. Chapter 15

"Well, fancy meeting you lot here." Chloe Frazer's cheerful Australian drawl was instantly recognizable as you and the others stepped into the little restaurant. She was a petite but well-muscled Indian woman brimming with witty quips and sporting snappy, intelligent eyes. Sam and Elena immediately gave her friendly hugs. "Heyyyy, Chloe! How's it hanging!"

You couldn't help but feel your mouth twitch a little in a smile at Sam's casual but enthusiastic greeting. "Good to see you, Chloe," Sullivan said, leaning in and elegantly kissing her cheek. Chloe smirked. "Always the charmer, Sully."

"Well, I try."

"Y/N L/N." Chloe's voice was now just as careful and neutral as you knew yours was going to be, but still pleasant. "Hey, Chloe," you said mildly. She shook your hand, both of you instantly adopting the lighthearted and cautious dynamic that you'd used before. "Well, Y/N, You're looking gorgeous as always."

You let out a polite little laugh, but felt Sam stiffen and glance over beside you. Sam Drake didn't know exactly what was going on, but something was weird here...and he'd never seen Chloe be quite so businesslike. A HANDshake? Chloe Frazer was usually a hugger.

"So Elena's recruited just about everybody for this little adventure, has she?" Chloe winked at Elena, who laughed, relieved that your reunion with the other woman was over. Chloe made a show of glancing behind everyone. "You seem to be missing a Drake."

"Nate's sleeping," Sully said. Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Not like him to miss all the excitement."

"Blame it on the saffron-filled wagon we used to get here," Elena laughed. Chloe rolled her eyes with a smile. "Ah, yes. The great Nathan Drake's allergies. That's hilarious." 

"Besides, doesn't seem like we're going to be getting to TOO much of the exciting stuff just yet, anyway," Sullivan said, stepping in. He'd clearly sensed the odd tension, too, and was eager to get on the road. "Today's mostly just recon. Tracking down Asav and seeing where he's set up base camp. Although first--" he stepped towards the restaurant counter "I'm going to grab some food on the go." 

"Aaaaand you?" Chloe looked at you, curiosity making her overcome her previous cautious tone. "Last I heard you were typically involved with a more subtle, support kind of element of this business." 

You scoffed a little, but still relatively good-naturedly. Sam kept his eyes on you. "You're not wrong. I've arranged for certain...deliveries to be made to the war-torn neighborhoods. Anonymous donations that should help the innocent citizens keep themselves safe."

"You're having large deliveries of guns brought into the city?" Chloe looked impressed. "How?? Security checkpoints are everywhere in those sections."

You shrugged. "I have my ways." And a few great connections, you added silently. 

Sully laughed from over near the counter. "I did notice that you didn't really bring much on the plane besides enough for just ourselves." 

"Smooth operator," Sam laughed, sliding closer to you and giving you an affectionate squeeze on the back of your neck with his hand. 

"Oh, hey, Chloe," Elena said, distracting you from the warm buzziness of Sam's hand "We might have another enemy here somewhere. Someone shot down our plane up in the hills. It was a close call."

"Shit." Chloe sounded concerned. "That's no good. Any ideas who?"

"Rafe, maybe."

"Hmm. Better keep our heads down then." She suddenly laughed. "Good thing Nathan isn't around then. He does have a tendency to break things on a massive scale."

You couldn't help a real laugh at that along with everyone else; another thought of Jeff crossed your mind as Sully returned with his to-go food and the group headed out, but you pushed the thought down. It was more important to focus in the moment, and in this moment Chloe wasn't so bad. 

Sam's hand grazing your waist in the crowd wasn't so bad, either.


End file.
